CHANDLER, Ariz. – A burgeoning segment of golf is on the entertainment side of things. Topgolf comes to mind, as does the Tiger Woods-backed Popstroke. There are places like Putting World, too.
Now Golfzon is looking to get a larger piece of the action in the United States.
Hugely popular in Asia, the high-end golf simulator manufacturer is making inroads in the U.S., having entered the market here about six years ago. Stinger’s Golf Club, in the golf hotbed of Arizona, is one of newest businesses to feature Golfzon’s products.
The indoor golf facility, which owner Tyler Wilson likes to call a “golf bar,” recently held a grand opening in the Phoenix suburb of Chandler. Wilson was previously in the logistics freight brokerage business, but something told him to take a chance with a concept that’s a little more fun. And fun is to be had here.
Stinger’s Golf Club in Chandler, Arizona (Todd Kelly/Golfweek)
“I was always finding myself wanting to get out and play some more golf and turn my passion into a business a little more,” said the former college baseball player.
Inspired by a visit to Golf the Green in Chicago, Wilson sensed there was something to this screen golf concept. It led him to an empty storefront in a strip mall that used to be an AutoZone, where he set up shop for Stinger’s.
On his first day of business, a man popped in for a round. He had just dropped his wife off for a hair appointment, punched “golf near me” into Google and discovered Stinger’s was right around the corner.
Powered by simulators made by Golfzon, golfers can hit in six bays and play up to 200 simulated golf courses including Pebble Beach and PGA West. A hitting bay costs $50 an hour, and Stinger’s offers several membership options.
If you haven’t played this kind of screen golf, it may only be a matter of time until you do. Golfzon already is a major player in the trend, especially in Korea, where golfers are starved for any chance to wack a little white ball.
For a sense of Golfzon’s scale, the company offers the following sample of data from 2023:
- Holes played on Golfzon simulators: 1,746,790,758
- Rounds played: 99,965,162
- Shots hit: 7,246,686,086
- Countries with Golfzon simulators: 41
- Golfzon simulators worldwide: Close to 10,000
- Facilities in the U.S. with Golfzon simulators: Almost 200
- Of the 500 or so Golfzon simulators in the U.S., about 200 are residential installations.
When Golfzon first arrived in the U.S., close to 90 percent of…
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